“The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true. Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch’s patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story — at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez — are not legitimate.”

Do you buy it? I won’t totally hang him until MLB and the DEA conclude their investigation. But I never believed him in 2009 when he said his PED use was limited to just 2001-03 when he was with the Rangers. Sorry, but his story just changed too much every time he told it. So my gut instinct is not to believe him now. We’ll see.

It sounds like the Yankees feel the way I do and want to wait and see how this investigation is concluded. In their brief statement they seemingly had no support of Alex Rodriguez at all.

“We fully support the Commissioner’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. This matter is now in the hands of the Commissioner’s Office. We will have no further comment until that investigation has concluded.”

No love at all. Ouch.

Based on various reports, MLB was investigating a Miami clinic run by Anthony Bosch. They got to a point where they couldn’t get any more information without warrants so they brought in the DEA to help them investigate. That’s where we are now as documents from the clinic were linked to the Miami New Times.

Are these documents true? They’re probably trying to find more evidence to confirm that, but it certainly rings true with a total of four previously outed PED users among the list of seven major leaguers.

A-Rod could potentially be suspended by the league for his involvement. In that case he would not miss any extra time as he’ll be out at least 50 games following his second hip surgery. He would lose a substantial amount of money though (probably about a 1/3rd of the $28 million he’s owed).

The Yankees could also try to void his contract. This seems unlikely to be successful though just because so many players have tested positive and not a single player has had his contract voided yet. They have previously tried to void the contract of Jason Giambi and got no where. That doesn’t mean they won’t try though.

18 Responses to Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez denies steroid use

So let's ask ourselves why anyone or any organization would deliberately falsify evidence against Arod or any other player for that matter? The players (or athletes) are proven liars over the course of time, just like Lance, Roger, Barry, and others. Certainly, the Yankee front office knows this and is now trying to disassociate themselves with Arod. I would imagine Arod has used, most , if not all of his career.

"So let's ask ourselves why anyone or any organization would deliberately falsify evidence against Arod or any other player for that matter?"

I totally agree. Let's dispense with due process and this legal mumbo jumbo. Ban him from baseball and don't give him his day in court. In fact, why not coerce a confession from him by slowly crushing him with successively heavier stones? I figure, since we're advocating medieval notions of justice (why would anyone lie?) why not go all the way?

A-Rod's statement says he was not Bosch's patient and was never treated or advised by him. But did he or anyone on his behalf (Sucart?) buy PED's from Bosch or his clinic? The statement doesn't address this aspect.

Who knows what legal recourses the team has, but it's possible that the only way to clean up the game is for one team to finally pick a fight with one player. The Yankees could announce they aren't going to honor this contract (after there's better evidence he juiced), put that money in escrow in case they are forced to pay it, and then ban A-Fraud from the clubhouse. Even if they have to pay him, they don't have to play him. This might be the leverage they need to arrange a buyout of the contract and finally be rid of him. This would have two advantages. First this narcissistic distraction would be gone. Second, if handled properly, it's just possible that any buyout would count towards the 2013 salary cap only, freeing up space for 2014. It's worth exploring.

You people are probably the same ones who cheered for A-Rod when he was crushing the ball and playing great defense. So quick to condemn with no hard evidence. Did he forget it was management who gave him that contract.

Nope. Never liked this player. Having him on the team has made it harder to stay a fan. Getting rid of him would go a long way towards restoring a sense of class. So would reducing the confiscatory ticket prices.

Let's not confuse HGH with steroids as almost everyone is doing. HGH , while it is banned unless prescribed by a Dr. for a legitimate purpose , is not necessarily a performance enhancing drug. It depends on the user. It does promote faster healing and retards the aging process. I don't see why someone should be prevented from healing at a faster rate. What puzzles me is why A-Rod did not get a legitimate Dr. to apply for an exemption from Major League Baseball , which is possible , but rather took the illegal road with some sleazy strip-mall purveyor and run the risk of being caught. Ron Tamoschat.

Never said to dispense with due process. Lord knows in this politically correct society he will not be denied his rights. Just saying that one cannot believe their denials anymore, and that the evidence probably has substance.

Mark, I sense you are passionate about this issue, but I don't think anyone here is suggesting that he should be prosecuted or kicked out of the league without actual proof. It's still possible that this guy just wrote a bunch of names on a list that included people who had previously tested positive for steroids to make it sound credible. All of those players were already proven publicly to have used, so maybe he took that public information and used it to make himself famous, or maybe he's psychotic. Who knows?

My only question though is how did the MLB come to find out about this guy. It doesn't sound like he just came forward with this information. It sounds like the book was taken from him and that there was some evidence that he was providing PEDs to MLB players before that. This is why, again, I believe A-rod did something wrong here. I get the innocent before proven guilty argument, but that only matters in law, not in public opinion or the real world. The fact is A-rod has been proven to be guilty and proven to lie in the past, so I am less apt to believe he is innocent or believe anything he says now.

I don't think A-rod should be punished without due process. On the other hand, when that due process proves he did something wrong, he should be kicked out of a league. These guys get paid millions of dollars to play a game. It is such a privilege to play this sport, just like it is a privilege to have any job, really. When a stock broker cheats and uses insider information and gets caught, he loses his job and never gets hired again. When a supreme court justice does something dishonest, they get fired. When a Doctor commits malpractice with gross negligence, or purposefully does something harmful to their patients, they have their license taken away from them. All of those jobs make a lot less money than A-Rod, and he cheated to get a leg up at his job. He, and all steroid users, deserve more than a slap on the wrist. Again, especially for repeat offenders.

1) I am all for AFraud being kicked out of the league. He's become a liability for a number of reasons, not the least of which is his huge contract
2) He's already been convicted by the media. Due Process has become a formality rather than a process of determining guilt of innocense. Even you imply as much.
3) Playing baseball is not a privilege anymore than selling vacuum cleaners or practicing law. You either have the skills, or you don't. You either adapt or you perish. You either perform, or you don't. Playing baseball professionally results from economic forces as much from athletic – people who can't perform are naturally selected out of the game. A doctor committing malpractice will at least get his day in court.

I am really not that passionate about either AFraud or due process. I'm actually passionate about ensuring that I am not one day victimized by a mob mentality which has been allowed to grow becaue of episodes like this one.

I agree that the media is a bitch. I hate the media for many reasons, including the most recent election (but that's besides the point). They are invasive and can paint someone out to be whoever they want. They sometimes interfere with due process, as you point out. If, however, A-Rod is innocent, he will be proven as such, and objective thinkers will still have the same view of him after this as they did before (probably not a good view anyway).

I will say this however, A-Rod will have his day in court too. And despite the fact that a doctor has his day in court, his insurance still nearly doubles, and he almost always loses a TON of money even if the case is completely arbitrary. The real world is just as dog eat dog as baseball. If you are not making money for your company, you are fired. In that respect it's worse than baseball, because let's be honest, A-Rod is losing money every day for the Yankees. In the real world he'd have been fired long ago. As a doctor, if you lose a malpractice case over one mistake, it can be the end of your career. You will have trouble getting hired anywhere else and you may just lose so much money you have to rethink your entire career and lifestyle. You also may get fired.

The real world is a harsh place, no matter who you are. In fact, it's a harsh place even for honest people working hard to earn a living. It shouldn't be any less harsh for cheaters and millionaires.